Marcus Chen was supposed to be sleeping. Had work tomorrow, some shitty office job that barely paid rent. But here he was at 3 AM, eyes burning from staring at his computer screen, fingers cramping from gaming for like eight hours straight. The new MMO had dropped today and he was already addicted. Just one more level, he kept telling himself. Always just one more.
His stomach growled loud enough to wake the neighbors. When did he last eat? Lunch maybe? Time got weird when you were grinding levels. He grabbed the cup of instant ramen sitting next to his keyboard, the cheap kind that tasted like salt and sadness. Still hot though, steam rising up. He shoved a huge forkful into his mouth without really paying attention, eyes still glued to the screen where his character was fighting some dragon boss.
The noodles went down wrong. Way wrong.
His throat seized up, air cutting off completely. He tried to cough but nothing came out. Panic hit him like a truck. He stood up fast, chair rolling back and hitting the wall with a bang. His roommate was gonna be pissed about that later. If there was a later. Marcus grabbed his throat, trying to force the noodles up or down, didn't matter which. Black spots started dancing in his vision. This was really happening. He was gonna die choking on two-dollar ramen like some kind of pathetic loser.
The world went dark.
Then everything hurt.
Not the choking kind of hurt. Different hurt. Like his whole body had been put through a blender. Marcus groaned, tried to sit up. His head was pounding worse than that time he drank a whole bottle of cheap vodka in college. Where was he? This wasn't his shitty apartment. The ceiling above him was wooden, old looking, with cracks running through it like spider webs. Dust particles floated in dim light coming from somewhere. Smelled like mold and unwashed clothes.
He sat up slow, bed creaking under him. Wait, this wasn't his bed either. This was some kind of ancient looking thing, wooden frame that looked like it might collapse any second. The mattress felt like it was stuffed with rocks. Or maybe straw. Who the hell stuffed mattresses with straw anymore?
Marcus looked down at his hands. They were wrong. Too small, too pale. Kid hands. What the fuck? He stumbled over to a cracked mirror in the corner, dust thick on the frame. The face staring back wasn't his. Some teenager, maybe sixteen, with hollow cheeks and messy black hair. Definitely not the twenty-something guy who'd been stuffing his face with ramen an hour ago.
Memories flooded in that weren't his. This body belonged to Marcus Chen too. Weird coincidence. But this Marcus was the third son of some noble family in a place called Azure Dragon Empire. The memories were fuzzy, like trying to remember a dream. Father was distant, always angry about something. Two older brothers who treated him like garbage. And this body couldn't cultivate worth shit, which apparently was a big deal here. Everyone could use qi for magic stuff except him. Made him the family punching bag.
Great. From one shitty life to another.
His stomach growled again. Loud. This kid hadn't eaten properly in days from what he could remember. Family didn't waste good food on the "trash" son. There was half a moldy bun sitting on a wooden table, probably left over from yesterday. Or the day before. Hard to tell. Marcus grabbed it, took a bite. Tasted like dirt mixed with sadness.
That's when the voice hit him.
[Host detected. SSS-Rank Gluttony System activating.]
Marcus choked on the bun, crumbs spraying everywhere. "What the hell?" The voice was deep, rumbling, like someone speaking from the bottom of a cave. Definitely not his imagination.
[Activation complete. Welcome, host. Consume to evolve.]
A system. Like in those web novels he used to read when he should have been working. This was either the best thing ever or he'd finally snapped. Probably both. "Uh, system?" he said out loud, feeling stupid.
[Correct. I am Gluttony. Through consumption, you shall grow beyond mortal limits.]
The voice had personality. Not just some mechanical thing. Marcus finished the moldy bun, waiting. A ding echoed in his head.
[Consumed: Inferior Bread. +1 Vitality gained. Current stats - Strength: 2, Agility: 1, Vitality: 3.]
Holy shit. It was real. Numbers appeared in his vision like a game interface. Marcus felt a tiny bit better, not much, but something. The constant ache in his chest eased up a little. "This is insane," he muttered.
The door to his room slammed open. In walked this huge guy, probably early twenties, muscles bulging under his robes. Chen Wei, the memories supplied. Second brother. The asshole who liked using Marcus as a punching bag.
"Trash, father wants to see you. Now." Wei's voice was all gruff and commanding. He grabbed Marcus by the collar, lifted him off the ground like he weighed nothing. "Don't keep him waiting or I'll make you regret it."
Wei was at Qi Gathering level 3, which meant he could probably bench press a car or something. Marcus had zero cultivation. This was gonna suck. But as Wei dragged him toward the door, Marcus got an idea. A really stupid idea.
He bit Wei's arm. Hard.
"What the fuck!" Wei dropped him, staring at the teeth marks on his sleeve. No blood, but Marcus could taste something. Energy maybe? The system dinged again.
[Consumed: Qi Essence Sample. +3 Strength, +2 Qi Resistance gained.]
Marcus felt it immediately. Muscles tightened, body filled with warmth. Not huge, but enough. When Wei swung at him, Marcus dodged. Actually dodged. Wei's fist hit the wall instead, leaving a crack in the wood.
"How did you..." Wei stared at him, confusion replacing anger.
"Guess I'm not as weak as you thought," Marcus said, grinning. It felt good. Really good. First time in either life he'd stood up to a bully.
Wei's face turned red. He was about to swing again when another voice called from down the hall. "Wei! Bring him here now!"
Father. Chen Minghai, head of the declining Chen family. From the memories, Marcus knew the guy was Foundation Building level 5, which meant he could probably level a building if he got pissed enough. Better not keep him waiting.
Wei glared at Marcus but backed off. "This isn't over, trash."
They walked through halls that smelled like incense and old wood. The Chen manor was huge but falling apart. Paint peeling on the walls, floorboards creaking, servants giving them dirty looks as they passed. The family was nobility but barely. Hanging onto their status by a thread.
Father was waiting in his study, sitting behind a massive desk covered in scrolls and account books. Chen Minghai looked like an older version of Wei, same build, same permanent scowl. His qi was intimidating as hell, pressing down on Marcus like a weight.
"Sit," he commanded.
Marcus sat in the wooden chair across from the desk. It was uncomfortable as hell, probably on purpose. Father stared at him for a long moment, eyes cold. "The Heavenly Dragon Academy is accepting new students next month. You will not be attending."
That stung, even though Marcus barely understood what it meant. From the memories, the academy was where all the cultivation geniuses went to train. Getting in was a huge honor. Not getting in meant you were trash.
"Instead," Father continued, "you will be married to the Liu family's third daughter. She's crippled, can't cultivate either. Perfect match for our family's disgrace."
Marriage? The kid was sixteen! Marcus opened his mouth to protest but Father held up a hand.
"The arrangement brings us much needed resources. Do not shame us further by complaining."
This was fucked up. Marcus could feel anger building in his chest. In his old life, people tried to control him too. Boss, landlord, debt collectors. He'd taken their shit because he had no choice. But now he had something different. The system.
"What if I could cultivate?" Marcus asked.
Father laughed. Actually laughed. "You? You can barely walk without falling over. Your meridians are completely blocked. Even with pills and medicines, you've shown no progress in three years."
"What if I could prove you wrong?"
The laughter stopped. Father's eyes narrowed. "Prove it then. Show me you can reach Qi Gathering level 1 by the end of this week. If you succeed, we'll discuss the academy. If you fail..." He smiled, cold as ice. "The marriage happens immediately."
One week. That was impossible for a normal person. But Marcus wasn't normal anymore. He had Gluttony.
"Deal," Marcus said.
Father looked surprised. Probably expected him to back down like always. "Very well. Wei will supervise your training. Dismissed."
As they left the study, Wei grabbed Marcus's shoulder. "You just signed your own death sentence, trash. Father's testing you, but I know the truth. You'll never amount to anything."
Marcus shrugged off his grip. "We'll see."
He headed back to his room, mind racing. One week to reach Qi Gathering level 1. Most people took months or years. But most people couldn't eat their way to power. The system had said "consume to evolve." Time to find out what that really meant.
There was a knock on his door. Soft, hesitant. "Young master? It's Aria."
Marcus opened the door. Standing there was a girl about his age, maybe seventeen, with kind brown eyes and hair tied back in a simple ponytail. She wore servant clothes, nothing fancy, but she was pretty in a natural way. From the memories, Aria was the only person in the whole manor who'd ever been nice to him. Her mom used to work in the kitchens before she died. Now Aria did the same job.
"I brought you something," she said, holding out a small cloth bundle. "Heard you didn't eat dinner again."
Inside was a steamed bun, still warm, and some kind of meat pastry. Real food, not moldy scraps. Marcus felt something in his chest that wasn't hunger. "Thanks, Aria. You don't have to keep doing this."
She smiled, cheeks turning a little pink. "I want to. Someone should look out for you."
There was something in her voice, the way she looked at him. Oh. She liked him. The original Marcus had been too dense to notice, but it was obvious now. This sweet girl had been bringing him food and comfort for who knows how long, probably hoping he'd see her as more than just a servant.
"Aria," Marcus said carefully, "what do you know about spirit herbs?"
She blinked, surprised by the question. "A little. My mom taught me before she died. Why?"
"Could you help me find some? Tonight?"
She looked around nervously. "That's... that's really dangerous. If we get caught stealing from the family gardens..."
"I'm not talking about stealing. There's wild stuff growing in the hills behind the manor, right? Nothing fancy, just basic herbs?"
Aria bit her lip, thinking. Finally she nodded. "I know a place. But why do you need herbs? You can't cultivate them anyway."
Marcus smiled. "Maybe it's time that changed."
Two hours later, they were sneaking through the back gardens under cover of darkness. Aria led the way, moving quiet as a mouse between the ornamental trees and flower beds. She knew every path, every hiding spot. The moon was barely a sliver, giving them decent cover.
"There," she whispered, pointing to a section of wild growth near the manor's back wall. "Qi grass grows there sometimes. And maybe some spirit moss if we're lucky."
Marcus spotted them right away. The grass glowed faintly to his enhanced vision, probably a system feature. He grabbed a handful, stuffed it in his mouth. Tasted like bitter lettuce mixed with electricity. The system dinged.
[Consumed: Qi Grass (Low Grade). +2 Qi Capacity, +1 Cultivation Speed.]
Better. He found the spirit moss growing on a rock, scraped it off with his fingers. This one tasted like dirt and sadness but the system was happy.
[Consumed: Spirit Moss (Common). +1 Meridian Clarity, +1 Qi Control.]
Aria watched him eat the herbs with wide eyes. "What are you doing? You're supposed to process them first, make pills or elixirs..."
"My way works better," Marcus said, mouth still full of moss. He felt the changes already. Energy flowing through his body differently, pathways that had been blocked starting to clear.
They spent an hour collecting everything they could find. Marcus ate it all raw while Aria looked like she might throw up watching him. By the time they snuck back to his room, the system had given him a dozen small upgrades.
[Current stats - Strength: 8, Agility: 6, Vitality: 11, Qi Capacity: 15]
Not much by normal standards, but for someone who'd been at zero that morning, it was huge progress. Marcus could feel qi flowing through his meridians for the first time. Weak, but there.
"I should go," Aria said once they were back in his room. "If someone sees me here this late..."
She was right. Getting caught would mean trouble for both of them. But as she turned to leave, Marcus caught her hand.
"Aria. Thank you. Really."
She looked down at their joined hands, face flushing. "It's nothing. I just... I want you to succeed."
The moment stretched between them, charged with possibility. Then footsteps echoed in the hallway outside. Aria pulled away quickly, slipping out the door just as whoever it was passed by.
Marcus lay back on his uncomfortable bed, staring at the cracked ceiling. One day down, six to go. The herbs had given him a start, but he'd need more than wild grass to reach Qi Gathering level 1 in a week. Tomorrow he'd have to get creative.
The system whispered in his mind as he drifted off to sleep. [Well done, host. But this is only the beginning. To grow truly strong, you must be willing to consume anything.]
Anything. Marcus wondered what that meant exactly, but he was too tired to think about it. For the first time in either life, he felt like he had a real chance at changing things.
He just hoped he was strong enough to handle whatever came next.